Pickering family
The Pickering Family is a merchant family with a political leaning. They are also a generally acknowledged criminal organisation within the town of Owstown, holding powerful sway within the Craftsmen's District of the city. They're heavily focused on Owstown, and show no political interests beyond. They do however have interest in expanding their trade empire beyond the city. History The Pickering family came to Owstown during the Northmarsh expansion in 874. They began to establish a trade network within the city, making their money moving goods to and from the new cities, profiting greatly off the ready access to rare herbs that the Northmarsh settlements had access to. When the Northmarsh settlements fell, the income of the Pickering family began to dry up, and so they turned to new avenues to make money. They abused their connections within the Craftsmen's and Naval Districts to import rare, stolen materials, while charging protection money for continued access to the blackmarket. They expanded their operations within the Naval District, building a proper blackmarket, until the Syndicate was established, and quickly seized control of it, leaving the Pickering Family in a weak position. Organisation The Pickering Family lacks any central authority, and they don't pursue a single focused objective. Instead, each member of the family runs their own small gang, which is allied with the others. There is six gangs operating, most of which are run by the head of another line of the family. These gangs co-ordinate regularly to ensure that they don't step on each other's toes, however within the gangs, the organisation of each varies. Important Members Lucky Pickering Lucky Pickering is the head of one of the six gangs of the Pickering family. He is the youngest of the leaders, having inherited a position of power from his father, who died fairly young. He's a cheerful and positive person, who often seems to be having fun more than anything else. As a leader he's proven to be effective for his prowess in leading a fight, as well as his cheerful and forgiving nature inspiring loyalty in those who follow him. Winslow Pickering Winslow Pickering runs one of the Pickering family gangs. He's an angry, aggressive man, who regularly picks fights with the Syndicate for stealing the naval district from them. His aggression is only tempered by Elise Aylmer's ability to negotiate, and so usually he secures a better deal for the Pickering Family, in exchange for the hostilities being cooled off. Lonnie Pickering Lonnie Pickering is one of the leaders of the Pickering Family gangs. He's a coward, who avoids fights like the plague. To this end, he tends towards running less confrontational matters. The primary business of his gang is extortion, though he personally never gets involved, simply running the books and processing the profits. He doesn't move close to the other districts, leaving the potentially contested, or risky, locations to the others. Connor Pickering Connor Pickering runs one of the gangs. He's a former adventurer, and the most respected member of the Pickering Family among all the other organisations. He is a rather mellow man, preferring to talk matters over instead of resorting to violence. His ability to perform said violence typically means that most others are willing to do the same, and he is the driving force behind the more cordial relations between the Pickering and Quickly families. Keiran Pickering Keiran Pickering is head of the smallest Pickering gang. He's an incompetent leader, and his impact is largely unimportant. Even so, he holds power, and is relevant due to his close relations with a number of the Pickering Senators. Ermdus Pickering Ermdus Pickering is not a blood relative of the Pickering family. Despite this, his respect within the crafting community, and his marriage into the family has allowed him to climb to a position of running a gang. He is a competent craftsman himself, however his cheerful and friendly nature has lead him to be quite popular among the other craftsmen. This popularity helps him provide security, with the help of his gang, as well as move the products obtained by other gangs.